July 12, 2018
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The National Institutes of Health has awarded a $25 million Clinical and Translation Science Award to Dr. Rebecca Jackson, a member of the faculty of The Ohio State University College of Medicine and former director of the university’s Center for Clinical and Translational Science. This funding from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences will further the center’s mission of translating scientific discoveries into clinical therapies to improve human health.
The CCTS is a collaboration of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, other colleges at Ohio State and Nationwide Children’s Hospital. This is the center’s third five-year cycle of funding from the NIH since 2008.
“We are extremely excited to receive this award. These resources will allow us to further expand our clinical research infrastructure and will be transformational for our community and the patients of central Ohio,” said Dr. K. Craig Kent, dean of the College of Medicine. “We’re implementing strategies across the College of Medicine to advance breakthrough discoveries that directly impact patients and these resources will help us accelerate these life-saving efforts.”
The CCTS provides financial, organizational and educational support to biomedical researchers, as well as opportunities for community members to participate in valuable research. Nearly 2,800 faculty and researchers at Ohio State participate in the CCTS. Over the past 10 years, research funded by the CCTS has been published more than 1,400 times and cited on more than 55,000 occasions. In addition to being widely published, CCTS researchers have completed 18 patent filings and disclosed 25 inventions.
“We’re thrilled with this award because it allows us to continue to contribute to the national conversation on translational research. The goal of studies supported by this award will be to bring transformational care to our patients. This care will begin with our patients right here in the Columbus community,” Jackson said. “I’m grateful for the large and passionate team of researchers that assisted with our grant application.”
This new grant will support team science initiatives, workforce development and partnerships with private and public organizations. The CCTS currently partners with local communities to improve health outcomes in areas such as mental health, substance abuse, infant mortality and obesity.
For example, Ohio State researchers led by Janice Kiecolt-Glaser identified that stress and high-fat meals combine to slow metabolism and increase obesity in women. A project led by Laureen Smith developed interventions that reduced use of sugary drinks and increased water consumption by Appalachian teens, a group that has a high risk of dying from cancer, diabetes or heart disease as they age.
This grant will allow researchers from The Ohio State University to extend their programs beyond central Ohio to Appalachia as well as all 88 counties of Ohio.
“This award highlights Ohio State’s position as one of the nation’s top academic institutions, further enhancing our ability to produce high-impact research,” said Ohio State President Michael V. Drake. “Our collaborative approach facilitates cross-institutional research among our 15 colleges, Nationwide Children’s Hospital and other community stakeholders, with the ultimate goal of transforming patient care.”
The CTSA Program comprises an innovative national network of medical research institutions that work together to improve the translational research process.
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Media Contact: Marco Pena, Wexner Medical Center Public Affairs and Media Relations, 614-293-6442, Marco.Pena@osumc.edu